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Workshop on ‘Cell Culture Techniques’ held at BITS BIRAC BioNEST Innovation Lab
BITS Goa Innovation Incubation Entrepreneurship Society (BGIIES) at BITS BIRAC BioNEST Innovation Lab located at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, recently organised a three-day workshop on Cell Culture Techniques.
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Fifteen participants from Goa University, Dhempe College of Arts & Science, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science, Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology (Davangere), Colorcon Asia Pvt Ltd, and BITS Pilani attended the workshop.
The workshop was convened by Prof. Anasuya Ganguly, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, and Co-founder - Tissue Engineered Pvt Ltd., a startup incubated with the BITS BIRAC BioNEST and was supported by a doctoral scholar Prajakta Bhende. The workshop focused on theoretical sessions with emphasis on hands-on training through experimentation in Animal Cell Culturing using Laminar flow, CO2 incubator, Biosafety cabinet BSL II and Deep freezer.
Addressing the participants, President of the Society and Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Prof. Suman Kundu stated that “the current pandemic has established that there is great responsibility for biologists to help humanity”. He encouraged participants to be persistent and work hard to create socially impactful innovations in the future.
The BGIIES supports startups in the ideation stage/ pre-seed stage with the preincubation program and the startups in the MVP/seed stage with its incubation program. The Society also provides funding to deep tech startups under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
www.businessgoa.in
ConveGenius, India’s leading social enterprise, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Goa Government to drive education reforms across all the government schools in Goa. After the Prime Minister's recommendation to establish Vidhya Samiksha Kendras across India, Goa is the first state to take the initiative. This recent strategic alliance will bolster the project.
With this strategic association, the Goa Education Department will implement the SwiftChat platform powered by ConveGenius to improve education quality across the state.
As part of the association, the Goa education department will launch academic, administrative, and registry management chatbots on the SwiftChat conversational AI platform by ConveGenius. The chatbots will use Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to understand
Goa Government and ConveGenius signing MoU to drive schooling reforms via Vidhya Samiksha Kendra what users want and assist them in following evidencebased teaching, learning, and governance practices at scale.
Aimed at enhancing student learning outcomes through data-driven reforms in every school as proposed by the Prime Minister, the Goa government is planning to set up Vidhya Samiksha Kendra at SCERT, Goa. The recent partnership with ConveGenius, forged under the leadership of the Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, is a step forward in employing conversational AI chatbots to collect meaningful data points from government schools to monitor, assess, and enhance learning. The education department of Goa will deploy SwiftChat’s omnichannel chatbots to record attendance, NEP-aligned assessment progress, NIPUN Bharat KPIs, and facilitate digital home learning. The chatbot data pipelines will be leveraged to build actionable impact dashboards at Vidhya Samiksha Kendra and thus fill the void of quick, legitimate, trustworthy, and interoperable data for better decision-making and resource allocation at all hierarchical levels.
Additionally, the chatbots will maintain two-way communication with key stakeholders from teachers to administrative staff without having to log on to any complex online system or needing a computer.
Commenting on the partnership, ConveGenius’s Co-founder and Director, Shashank Pandey, said, “India is undergoing a massive educational transformation thanks to the National Education Policy 2020 and data-driven model like Vidhya Samiksha Kendra. It is a lighthouse guiding the transformation. But time is of the essence. SwiftChat has been built to enable states to set up their monitoring systems within days and not years without investing in heavy infrastructure”
AUTHOR: BHARAT WAKHLU, MUKUND RAJAN, SONU BHASIN PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS Tata’s Leadership Experiment
The Tata Administrative Service was founded by the celebrated industrialist and entrepreneur, JRD Tata, in 1956 as a means to attract and encourage the best managerial talent and incorporate them in the Tata Group. He envisioned building a space that would produce strong executives
Bharat Wakhlu Mukund Rajan Sonu Bhasin
who would be able to guide businesses and increase their effectiveness. Developing future leaders who will uphold the Tata Group’s core principles of responsibility, excellence, unity, and honesty, the goal of nationbuilding was at the heart of JRD’s endeavours. He was essentially looking for leaders who would not only be prepared for jobs across Tata Organisations but also understand that leadership development is a dynamic phenomena and changes over time. In Tata’s Leadership Experiment, Mukund Rajan, Sonu Bhasin, and Bharat Wakhlu, come together to answer certain questions that arise when one wonders about the TAS. For example, why did candidates choose the TAS as their first option rather than the Indian Administrative Service. How effective was the mission in its leadership development goals? Who were some of the most talented leaders it produced?
A captivating narrative of JRD Tata’s leadership experiment based on indepth research and interviews with former and current TAS officers, the book explores the past, present, and future of the Tata Administrative Service.
With a twenty-threeyear career with the Tata Group, Dr Mukund Rajan currently chairs a pioneering investment firm focused on catalysing environment, social and governance (ESG) improvements. He has previously authored Global Environmental Politics (1996) and The Brand Custodian: My Years with the Tatas (2019).
A family business historian, a business author, as well as the editor-in-chief of Families & Business magazine, Sonu Bhasin is one of the earliest female professionals in the corporate world. Over the course of her career, she has led various businesses in senior leadership positions, including organizations like the TAS, ING Barings, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Tata Capital Limited. Bharat Wakhlu is a keynote speaker, leadership coach, and bestselling author. One of the founding members of the nonprofit organisation, Foundation for Peace and Compassionate Leadership, he is dedicated to advancing a new exemplar in leadership
Capturing Love, Laughter, and Everything in Between!
An ace photographer, Samantha da Cunha encapsulates transitory memories and immortalises them with the aid of breathtaking photography
By SWETA SHARMA
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French street photographer who went on to become a master of candid photography. His humane approach to his subjects and the spontaneous photographs that he captured helped establish photojournalism as an art form while also influencing the photography world in numerous ways. In The Mind’s Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers, he writes, “Of all the means of expression, photography is the only one that fixes forever the precise and transitory instant. We photographers deal in things that are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth that can make them come back again…for photographers, what has gone is gone forever.”
Espousing the ideas of Cartier-Bresson, Samantha da Cunha seeks to capture the transient moments in her subjects’ lives and provide them a sense of permanence. Hailing from Panjim, Samantha began showing interest in photography while she was a student at St Xavier’s College, Mapusa. In 2007, she was amongst the first few individuals who enrolled in the first batch for professional photography training at Prasad Pankar’s CMYK Academy of Photography.
The institution provided the correct mixture of training and inspiration to its budding young photographers including Samantha. After learning the preliminary tricks of the trade, Samantha went on to do her Masters in Photography at Shari Academy of Professional Photography under the guidance of the famed photographer, Girish Mistry in Mumbai. At Shari Academy, she was exposed to the science and technology that was applied to different kinds of photography and graduated with the top
Samantha da Cunha
scorer of the year award in 2010. Subsequently, Samantha went on to work as a staff photographer at a publishing house for a few years.
Samantha admired photography as a young girl. She reminisces, “When I was young, I always admired advertisement campaigns – whether in the magazines or on the hoardings. I frequently wondered: how does one achieve such results? My curiosity gave me a sense of direction as to the kind of career path I must follow. By 2007, I had already purchased my first camera, did a small course in Goa, and started assisting photographers post college hours to gain experience.” Consequently, she launched her very own photography studio, Studio Grey, in 2011.
Although Samantha has an experience in most genres of photography, she was inherently drawn towards wedding photography, one of the prime focuses of Studio Grey. She explains, “I believe that it is the raw emotions and stolen glances, which couples share on their special day that drew me in that direction. The idea of creating a romantic story with little or no background of the couple entices me.” In keeping with Samantha’s words, wedding photography is the creation of memories that couples can relive forever.
Initially specialising in wedding photography, Studio Grey has expanded its work portfolio to include architecture, commercial, corporate, food, individual, landscape, maternity, newborn, and product photography. The photographers use a combination of techniques and focus on capturing emotions. When it comes to weddings, their approach is candid and intimate with a flair for romance. Maternity and new born photography is all about capturing the gentleness of motherhood and the innocence of newborns. With food, landscape, product, and architectural photography, their focus lies on creativity, composition, and attention to the finest of details while preserving the essence of each element.
With an assortment of clients, her photography studio has undertaken several notable projects that have become a marvelous part of their work portfolio. With offices in Mumbai and Panaji, the team has covered the weddings of various Indian celebrities like the Hindi television actress, Drashti Dhami; an actress in the Marathi entertainment industry, Anuja Sathe Gokhale; and Binay Pradhan, assistant director of the movie Devdas. Many mouthwatering culinary displays have been filmed by Samantha for a number of wellknown restaurants, including Bademiya, Salt Water Café, and Yauatcha (a Michelin star rated restaurant). Besides this, they have also captured commercial projects for Orra Jewellers, Podar Group of Schools, and ITC Hotels.
Taking up a career in photography as she believed that it was a platform which would aptly express her art, Samantha affirms that she has never found herself to be in a disadvantaged position due to her identity as a female photographer. She feels that a photographer’s identity and background only strengthens and adds on to their voice.
Being unique – whether in terms of gender, race, or experience – further enriches and diversifies their photographs. Conclusively, Samantha mentions, “I see the world the way I see it, not because I am a woman, but because I am my own unique individual”
Reversing the aging process
As a specialist in geriatric medicine, preventive cardiology and functional medicine, Dr Lenny Da Costa speaks on his journey and future plans of combining modern and functional medicine to help people lead a better life
By SYBIL RODRIGUES
Dr. Lenny Da Costa was born and brought up in Goa, did his schooling at Loyola High School in Margao, and followed it up with a higher secondary school certificate from Chowgule College. He did his first year of M.B.B.S from Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore and then came back to Goa to complete his degree from Goa Medical College. Dr. Lenny went on to do his Post graduation in geriatrics from M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore. Being a geriatric physician, he knew there was nothing that could be done as far as aging disorders were concerned and hence shifted to reversing chronic degenerative diseases including diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders and the like. This took him to a new journey where he learnt about metal detoxification and how one gets toxic overload from metals which in turn leads to chronic disease like heart disease, diabetes, neuro-degeneration etc. Then Dr. Lenny learnt about how one could balance their hormones if one wants to slow down the process of aging, and later completed his fellowships in metal toxicology, nutrition and functional medicine. Over the last 20 years, he has treated around 30,000 patients where he and his teams have reversed heart diseases and diabetes in most of his patients.
Dr. Lenny’s father – late Dr. Lanfredo Da Costa, was a renowned pediatrician and Dr. Lenny, since his childhood was intrigued with knowing how people got better which set him on his path to becoming a doctor and somebody who helps people. His father was his biggest motivation and is the number one reason why Dr. Lenny chose to get into the medical field.
Having specialised in
Dr. Lenny Da Costa
geriatric medicine after completing his MBBS, Dr Lenny saw that there were a lot of elderly patients coming to him who were prescribed one anti diabetic medicine or hypertensive medicine, leading to a vicious circle of being on those medicines which never resulted in them getting better. It made him curious on how he could reduce this medication as well get them to feel better in order to lead a quality life. He went back to college and earned a post graduation degree in geriatrics which helped him learn that as far as degenerative diseases of the body goes; modern medicine does not have most of the answers. Thus, he began looking into functional medicine which is basically using a lot of modern medicine techniques to treat the cause of the disease rather than just the symptoms. This is what Dr. Lenny commenced and continues doing till date.
In the early years as a doctor, Dr. Lenny’s idea of functional medicine was not accepted well amongst his peers. In a few years, when he began showing results, other doctors began accepting it and motivated Dr. Lenny to treat a large number of patients. In the early part of his career, he would travel to different cities and as the crowds began getting larger; Dr. Lenny decided to stick to his practice in Goa, Mumbai and Pune.
Over the years, Dr. Lenny and his team have undertaken various interventions and procedures. They have worked on patients who have had cardiology procedures done and reversed a lot of their problems which helped them lead a healthier life. His clinic in Pune, even today specialises in reversal of heart failure, and Ischemic Heart Disease. These are two conditions which he has worked on and the third one he is working on is reversing diabetes just by undergoing lifestyle changes. Fasting/diet modification and exercise are the main modalities used by him, coupled with the right nutrition and they have been successful in many cases. Currently, his team is working on those cases where they are not getting the kind of results they want so that they can find solutions to these health issues, as well.
Dr. Lenny has undergone training in anti-aging and preventive cardiology. When he did his geriatric medicine, he wanted to understand how he could reverse any kind of heart disease. One way of reversing this was by getting into preventive medicine, where one had to figure out what was causing the disease and then prevent it. He did a course at that time using detoxification methodologies and completed a full fellowship from International Board for Clinical Metal Toxicity (IBCMT). Here he was taught how to prevent heart disease, and reverse those cases wherein a patient had symptoms due to advanced stage of the disease. In anti-aging, Dr. Lenny states
that if one can balance their hormones, they can slow down the ageing process.
Today, he says that women enter menopause at an early age and this can be delayed if one manages their hormones well, which is what Dr. Lenny and his team do on a regular basis.
True anti-aging can be achieved if you remove the toxicities in your body, balance your hormones, ensure good nutrition, keep your body strong and active and keep your mind calm, he says.
The most challenging thing about his profession Dr Lenny says is that he comes from modern medicine. Having learnt it, along the way he had to unlearn a few things and then re-learn it to reach his mission of trying to help people become healthier and happier rather than just treating them for a particular disease.
With time, Dr Lenny has learnt that if one can understand how their body functions, what the body was made for and understand how one can maintain the body, a lot of diseases can be reversed. It took Dr. Lenny these last twenty years of practice to understand that and it is what is helping him today to understand how to reverse certain illnesses.
Having to meet and get to know different people every day is what keeps Dr. Lenny excited. Each person brings a fresh batch of challenges. He handles a lot of degenerative cases in the geriatric field. Giving people the best quality of life is what keeps him going and he sees everyday as a new day with a new challenge. Having a positive mindset is a big plus for Dr. Lenny which keeps him motivated and allows him to handle each case with the kind of care and sensitivity that it requires.
His biggest anchor is his wife who has been supporting him from the start and whatever he went through in the early years of his profession. His son too, he says, is his biggest inspiration and has stood by him through thick and thin.
As far as his future plans go, Dr. Lenny wants to touch a million lives with the kind of work he does and feels that this can be done by sharing his knowledge and experience with others interested in the similar outcomes for their patients.
At the moment he is setting up a training program across the globe in association with various experts and colleagues to help as many doctors as possible to understand the concept of functional medicine where one can actually help people reverse chronic diseases and lead a better life. He plans to get modern and functional medicine to work together so that people are healed completely and that is something Dr. Lenny is looking forward to, something he wants to achieve and leave for posterity.
Dr Lenny is currently the President of Society for Regenerative, Aesthetic and Ant-Aging Medicine, India (SRAAMI) and also the President of Indian Society for the Study of Metal Toxicology and Chelation Therapy (ISSMTCT) and has been speaking at various anti-aging and functional medicine meets and conferences both in India and overseas regularly
In an effort to achieve benchmark service standards for tourism in Goa, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) conducted a full day training programme for the staff of Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (GTDC) Residencies at Taj Resort & Convention Centre in Dona Paula. The training involved a thorough showcase of IHCL’s signature hospitality and an interactive session with the learning and development team of IHCL, Goa, on the current trends and potential learnings of this rapidly evolving industry. The attendees were chosen on the basis of seniority in ranking and experience. The session involved a detailed study of heart of the house departments including housekeeping, food and beverage service, food and beverage production, front office, engineering and
Gavin Dias, General Manager, GTDC; Nikhil Dessai, IAS, Director Tourism and Managing Director, GTDC and Dr. Ganesh Gaonkar, Chairman, GTDC felicitating Vincent Ramos, Senior Vice President - Goa for his contribution towards enhancing service standards of tourism in Goa horticulture. Each head of department demonstrated the various techniques and skills used in daily hotel operations and correct use of state-ofthe-art equipment for effective time management with bulk requirements. Additionally, each department discussed about the common challenges faced and the various methods practiced to address them.
Speaking on the initiative, Vincent Ramos, Senior Vice President – Goa for IHCL said, “Unlike other states in the country, tourism is the backbone of Goa’s economy with 40% of the population directly or indirectly dependent on it. Hence, it is imperative that we adapt to the changing tourism landscape and match the service expectations of today’s traveller. Goa has immense potential to position itself as the world’s best travel and leisure destination. With a combined and unified effort of all the partners and stakeholders in the industry, I am certain that Goa can achieve exemplary standards in tourism.”
On completing the training, participants were rewarded with certificates and mementos by GTDC’s senior leadership team. At the closing ceremony, Dr. Ganesh Gaonkar, Chairman – GTDC said, “We are immensely grateful to the IHCL team for extending their resources and support towards enhancing the service standards at GTDC Residencies. IHCL is the hallmark of Indian hospitality with a service culture that has been nourished over 118 years and practised across 50 global destinations. This synergy will help Goa to be a model state as per the vision of our Chief Minister, Dr. Pramod Sawant.” GTDC has over 500 keys spread across the length and breadth of the state in prime locations. These properties are mainly used to cater to travellers visiting Goa from across the country
GCCI TAXATION COMMITTEE MARKS FIVE YEARS OF GST REGIME
(L-R): Goutam Raj, CA Sanjeev Kamat, Lalit Saraswat, CA Parimal Kulkarni, Marcus Rodrigues and CA Yatish Pai Vernekar Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry celebrated successful completion and implementation of five years of GST with the Industry and SGST department.
The Chief Guest for the function was Ruchika Katyal, IAS, SGST Commissioner. GCCI President Ralph de Sousa, CA Rohan Bhandare, Chairman Taxation Committee, CA Parimal Kulkarni, CA Sanjeev Kamat, Goutam Raj, Lalit Saraswat, Marcos Rodrigues and CA Yatish Pai Vernekar were also present. The Commissioner has offered all the support from her Department for matters which the industry would like to deliberate upon. The Commissioner complimented GCCI for being at the forefront and recommending suggestions on refining GST as well as representing the challenges. de Sousa mentioned that 5 years ago the Government brought in the most revolutionary tax system in the form of Goods and Services Tax, which subsumed most of the erstwhile taxes such as VAT, Central Excise, Service Tax, and Luxury Tax. CA Bhandare said that GST has been very successful in achieving its primary objectives of simplifying India’s indirect tax regime, eliminating tax cascading, and curbing tax evasion. GST has decreased the number of taxes, compliance burden, and overall tax burden on the common man while significantly increasing transparency, compliance, and overall collection. The success of GST is in its numbers, wherein the GST collections have surpassed `1 lakh crore for the past eleven months, the highest in April 22 at `1.68 lakh crores. A panel discussion was held which helped bring out the following highlights: Goutam Raj complimented the E-invoicing and E-way bill systems that eased the traditional complex system and said that the industry had to deal with multiple taxes and multiple registrations under the erstwhile regime. Lalit Saraswat mentioned that the GST law and policy have been evolving and improving constantly over the past five years and added that the GST has also helped all businesses go digital and embrace technology in filing return, payment, and other compliances.
Marcus Rodrigues mentioned that the process of exports and refunds are seamless and that the pharma industry, which has a global presence, has kept India’s GST at the forefront.
CA Parimal Kulkarni expressed his concerns for the next 5 years which may include many litigations as an outcome of auditing of the past 5 year assessments and also act as a stepping stone towards a transformational change. He coined GST to stand for G-Growth, S-Systems and T-Transformation.
CA Sanjeev Kamat mentioned that the handholding of the industry for tax assessments in the initial teething years of GST by the state department was admirable and that he expects concessional treatment for many challenges coming in future
CII Goa’s recommendations to Government on boosting Renewable Energy
CII Goa office bearers met Sudin Dhavalikar, Power Minister, and submitted CII’s recommendations on boosting renewable energy in Goa. The recommendations focused on residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.
CII Goa listed a few ways in which capital costs can be reduced for the residential sector, through capital subsidies where through the Phase 2 Grid connected solar rooftop programme, Electricity Department in conjunction with Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) have begun disbursing subsidies to empanelled vendors.
CII Goa suggested that if the government can arrange
CII Goa Vice Chair Anirudh Agrawal along with team, meets Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar lower cost financing directly to the customer (G2C) the government will be able to increase the adoption of renewable energy without any impact to the exchequer.
CII Goa further suggested ways to boost the adoption of renewable energy amongst Goa’s major energy consumers and suggested that the government let market forces operate freely so that industries have the choice of OPEX or CAPEX business models as they deem fit. CII Goa also suggested businesses that maximise their available roof space or offset 100% of their consumption (whichever is lower) using renewable energy should be incentivised with preferential tariff rates of a 10% rebate on the remaining billed units.
The industry organisation also suggested that the Goa Government should initiate yearly sustainability awards recognising the industry/ business that has installed the highest renewable energy plant at their premises, thereby contributing to the state’s renewable energy obligation. CII Goa stated that it is ready to partner with the Government of Goa to setup the Sustainability Awards on similar lines as CIIITC Sustainability Awards by taking inputs for CII Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CESD)
ICAI- Goa celebrates CA Day
Goa Branch of WIRC of ICAI celebrated CA Day on 1st July with a series of events. On this occasion, multiple health camps were organised for CA members. A blood check up camp in association with Thyrocare Goa was organised wherein members could check their blood for any deficiencies or abnormalities. Dr Paresh Lotlekar of Studio32 organised a comprehensive dental checkup camp for CAs. A special breast cancer awareness camp was organised in association with cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s YouWeCan Foundation. Avi’s opticians also conducted a thorough eye check up for all the CAs present “All year round we CAs take care of the financial health of our clients, sometimes taking tremendous stress, especially in days nearing the deadline. We felt that at least on CA Day, we must look inwards and focus on our own health. We hope that these awareness camps will spur our members to stay fit,” said Chairman of Goa Branch, CA Gaurav Kenkre.
Regional Director of RBI Smita Kumar was the Chief Guest for the event. She spoke at length on how RBI and CAs have contributed to the nation. She appreciated the efforts of ICAI towards ensuring greater financial literacy and transparency. On this occasion senior CAs who had crossed 70 years of age, were felicitated for their untiring dedication to the profession. Newly qualified CAs were also felicitated and welcomed to the profession by ICAI. Not only ICAI, but Saraswat Bank also played its role in acknowledging the recently qualified CAs in Goa
NITIN KUNKOLIENKER APPOINTED PRESIDENT EMERITUS OF MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (MAIT)
L to R: Sanjay Lodha, Rajkumar Rishi, Nitin Kunkolienker and Amrit Jiwan MAIT is India’s apex industry body empowering IT, Telecom and Electronics hardware industry. MAIT’s members include large and MSME companies and industries from the domain of OEMs, ODMs, EMS, Design Houses, and Recyclers, PROs, Testing Laboratories, and sub-sectoral associations. MAIT held its 39th AGM which was attended by CXOs from the electronics, IT and telecom industry. Speaking on the occasion Nitin Kunkolienker, outgoing President MAIT thanked the Government of India for their progressive policies in support of electronics, IT and telecom hardware manufacturing. He wished the new MAIT Governing Council for the period 2022-2024 the very best.
Raj Kumar Rishi, VP and MD, CSB, India of Dell International Services India Pvt Ltd has been elected as the 28th President of MAIT, Amrit Jiwan, General Counsel and Director, Company Secretary, Legal and Regulatory Division, Canon India Pvt Ltd; and Sanjay Lodha, MD, Netweb Technologies India Pvt Ltd have been elected as Vice Presidents of MAIT. Further, Nitin Kunkolienker, Director, and Board Member, Synegra EMS Ltd has been appointed as President Emeritus of MAIT. MAIT is the apex body representing the ICT and electronics manufacturing sector for India. MAIT is recognized by both the Government, as well as the industry for its role in the growth and development of the IT hardware industry
Uncertainty Around with Higher Inflation and Lower Growth Rate
The writer speaks about the factors and effects of high inflation and low growth rates on the world economy
The global economy entered 2022 with an air of uncertainty. A smart recovery in the growth momentum in 2021 due to the decline of the covid after effects has been blunted again. Many economic and geopolitical factors have contributed to this uncertain environment surrounding growth prospects. The rise in the demand for oil and energy over the last two years has brought a sharp and unprecedented increase in crude oil and other energy prices. While crude oil prices have increased by 39% over the year and reached $100 a barrel, the natural gas and coal prices have gone up by 55% and 183%, respectively. The world is going through a phase of high energy cost.
Added to this is the negative effect of the Russia-Ukraine war leading to the economic sanctions from NATO on Russia. Not only is the war costing Russia and Ukraine economically, the sanctions have also caused energy supply disruptions in Europe which depends on Russian oil and gas. In order to counter these sanctions, there has been a boost in ruble trade instead of payments in dollars. China has begun paying for Russian oil in rubles leading to 1000% rise in the monthly volume of rubleyuan trade to $4 billion. India has also begun engaging in bilateral trade with Russia with payments in rupees. With the rising ruble trade and payments, the demand for dollars in the foreign exchange market has come down.
The economic effects of covid were not as bad as the ones from the Financial Crisis and the Great Depression. Although covid’s effects were short-lived, it still did cause a sharp dent in the global economic growth. The global economy that declined by 3.6% in 2020 recovered in 2021 with a smart growth of 6.1%. But growth is expected to slow down to 3.6% in 2022 and 2023.
After the Financial Crisis, the economies were managed by larger deficit financing by the governments and a policy of monetary expansion with low-interest rates to the level of zero or sub-zero by the central banks. Now that the economy is in a situation of a large increase in oil prices and energy costs, and supply bottlenecks in essential commodities, price inflation has reached record levels. The interest rates are on the rise again and may reach the precrisis levels.
Added to the global economic slowdown is the inflationary environment of unprecedented proportion. The situation is truly described as Stagflation that was experienced in the 1970s and 80s. Stagnation in economic growth is accompanied by intractable inflation in prices, a pernicious economic cocktail that can damage propitious sentiments and trends in the economy. Retail price inflation in the US has reached a record of 9.1%, the highest since November 1981 when it was 8.6%. It is a massive challenge to the Federal Reserve (Fed), which pegged the inflation rate at 2%, to contain inflation now. The Fed has already raised the interest rate by 0.75% to the 1.5-1.75% range in June. By the end of 2022, the Fed Funds rate is expected to be 3.25% to 3.5% and 4% in 2023. The time the Fed now has to fight inflation and the lowinterest rate phase is over.
Rising interest rates and tightening monetary policy aimed at lower money supply growth to combat inflation will have an effect on reducing the growth rate. Under the covid effect, the US economy declined by 3.5% in 2020. The growth rate recovered in 2021 to 5.6%, but is expected to be 1.7% in 2022 and lower at 0.5% in 2023. Yet the unemployment rate remains lower at 3.8% due to the fiscal spending by the government.
Indian economy which now ranks as the fifth largest globally has higher growth momentum. In the global economic environment of lower growth, India is emerging as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. China’s growth rate has slumped down due to the recent covid lockdown while India’s GDP declined by 8% in 2020 under the impact of the corona virus. The economy grew by 9.2% in 2021-22. The growth will slow down to 7.5% this year; however, the biggest worry is the raging inflation. The wholesale price index has gone up by 15% over a year and retail price inflation has reached 8%. In its attempt to curb inflation, the Reserve Bank has raised the repo rate, the rate at which the banks borrow from RBI, by 90 basis points to 4.9%. A further increase of 25-35 basis points is expected next month and by year-end, and the repo rate would go up to 5.5-5.75%.
Apart from the negative impact of the oil crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war, the growth momentum of the economy remains intact. Normal monsoons keep the agro and agro-based sectors buoyant. Covid did not have any adverse effect on food grains output which was 308 mn tonnes in 2020-21 and 310 mn tonnes in 2021-22. On the back of good rainfalls and its spread, a bumper harvest of 328 mn tonnes is expected this year. On the industrial front, the growth rate has risen to 7%. India’s service sector is large and accounts for 50% of India’s GDP. It comprises trade, banking, finance, insurance, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, communication, housing, real estate, construction, business services, and software services. This sector, which is also more employment oriented, would generate higher growth this year than the 8.2% achieved in 2020-21.
India’s exports have shown buoyancy in 2022 with both goods and services exports growing by 22-23%. However, the hefty increase in imports primarily caused by rising oil prices has impacted the trade deficit.
The rupee has declined by more than 6% in the forex market with the dollar rate going up from `74.76 a year ago to now touching a high of `80. Rising crude oil import bill and FII sale of equities of $26 billion have contributed to this fall
BEYOND CLASSROOM / DR. PRADEEP SALGAONKAR Creating a ‘Pull’ for your Product, organically
The columnist illustrates the benefits and feasibility of pull marketing
Recently, I witnessed the struggle and experience of a close colleague involved promotional strategy, refers to a strategy in which marketers aim to increase the demand in marketing a service product. This hassled me enough to think about a critical question in marketing – if I was in his place, marketing the same product. ‘How would I create a pull for my product?’ wherein I don’t have to do hard selling, literally pushing my product onto customers, or do anything whereby I feel that a relationship is getting strained, or I am getting stressed owing to no sales. Moreover, the ROTI (Return On Time Invested) is under question. So, the puzzle is how to create a natural pull and demand for the product in order for the efforts to pay off? It is a well-known fact that intensively pushing the products onto the customers by marketers often causes irritation amongst the former and the push strategy, at times, boomerangs. On the flip side, creating a strong pull and demand for a product is not easy, and may require large promotional budgets and a longer time period.
Push and pull are the two most widely used marketing strategies for promotion of products by businesses globally. Some businesses exclusively use push strategy while others use pull strategy. However, a majority of these businesses use a mix of the two to attain set goals.
Push Marketing
A push strategy is one where marketers attempt to ‘push’ their products onto the customers. The marketers involved in push marketing strategy continually push their products trying to persuade customers to take purchase action. The main objective of push marketing is to create quick awareness and generate immediate sales i.e. to reduce to as minimum as possible the time that elapses between the customer seeing a product and making a purchase decision to buy the product. It relies mainly upon traditional marketing techniques, such as direct marketing, direct mail, telephonic calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, video messages, social media, print ads, television ads, hoardings, etc. The main goal is to generate quick sales with no concern for long term relationship building. At times, over pushing of products on customers causes irritation and thus, many may develop natural hatred towards these products. for their products and ‘pull’ the customers to the product. It revolves around getting consumers to want a particular product. The idea is to establish a loyal following and draw consumers to the products, creating a strong demand. Common sales tactics used for pull marketing include mass media promotions, advertising, word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals, and advertised sales promotions. From a business perspective, pull marketing attempts to create strong brands, build brand loyalty and keep customers coming back and spreading positive WOM.
Push v/s Pull
The push strategy is generally used in case of new products and when a product claims to fulfil an unstated need of a customer or when the marketer is only concerned about sales and achieving set sales target by doing anything possible. Whereas, pull marketing is generally used when the customer knows what s/he wants or what problem needs to be solved but still needs to be pulled towards your product and the solution it offers, as against the solution offered by your competitors.
How to create a Pull
Creating a pull for a product is an arduous task and needs huge budgets, a unique differentiated product with strong marketing communication, a strong desire, and sustained efforts of brand building. Strong brands will create a strong pull, irrespective of the offerings and temptations from competition.
Pull Marketing
Pull marketing strategy, also called a pull
Here are a few cost effective ways of creating pull for a product:
a. Identify and communicate a unique ‘job to be done’ by your product – customers buy products for resolving a particular problem and fulfilling a specific need. Thus, it is prudent for marketers to identify why the customers will use your product, the problem it would solve, and accordingly promote the product for that purpose. b. Talk aloud about your product wherever possible – use all possible free platforms and media to talk about your product. There has to be a presence and reminders of the product at all possible places and any opportunities that may come up to be used effectively. These talks need not be directed at any particular customer/s, but in general, the purpose being to remind them of the presence of your product. c. Continuity and Sustainability in communication with customers – one needs to have a strong desire and make sustained efforts to positively communicate with the customers about the product benefits and value addition that it will give to them. The product advantages should be categorically spelt out and emphasised in order for the customers to take a notice of the same. Reminding them often about their unfulfilled need and what your product offers will help in making the customers think about the product and subtly engage with it. d. Get and use customer generated content and inputs – encourage customers to generate content and inputs that could be used for the betterment of the product offerings. Simple reviews and feedback about the product features and use may not be sufficient. It makes more sense to encourage customers to give inputs on how their experience with the product could be enriched, how the value addition could happen, and how the customers would actually like to use the product. e. Relationship building with individual customers – one of the best remedies for all human related problems lies in relationship management; pull marketing is no different. A pull for a product will come from a strong bond with customers and excellent personal relationships. Personal rapport and strong one-to-one relationships with customers, contribute far more to business marketing than incentivising customers. Though time consuming, relationship building is by far one of the best strategies in the hands of marketers for creating a pull of their product.
A push strategy when used singly may work for a short period; however, long term success in marketing using push is not sure. A combination of the two, push and pull may work well, provided a proper balance is struck between the two with appropriate timings for each strategy.
Keeping in mind the long term sustainability and success of any product, it makes a better marketing sense if the pull strategy is used. No doubt, it is time consuming and costly too, but the returns are equally rewarding. Gear up to create a pull for your product, the benefits will definitely be high
CABBAGES AND QUEEN / NANDINI VAIDYANATHAN Corporate lessons from a mountain trek!
The writer uses the analogy of a mountain trek to draw comparisons with the corporate world
We just did a very arduous 15 km day trek in Uttarakhand. Every trek The biggest teaches you unbelievable lessons. So did this one. What surprises me is that each trek teaches you new lessons along with reiterating old ones.
We have been hiking since December last year in this region with a company called Trailhikers, founded by a young entrepreneur called Raman. This is our third trek with this company in the last six months and we have had Manish as our guide all the time.
We started our trek at 8.30 am from Char Dukan in Landour which is at 3000 meters. It was called Kolti Village trek. The idea was to trek down to Kolti Village for 9 kms to climb down to 1000 meters and then trek up to Jabarkhet for another 6 kms to 2000 meters, where the trek would end. We were told it was about 10-12 km in total and that it was easy to moderate in difficulty, and it would take about 7 hours to complete.
I have been hiking since 2011. And one thing I have realised is, most distances, difficulty levels and time taken on mountain trails are highly suspect. By and large, it is only a guesstimation. The fact also is 10 kms on a mountain trail is a far cry from an urban road and everything is amplified to make the journey sigma challenging.
What made this a murderous trail? Imagine this.
• The first 9 kms going downhill to Village Kolti was acutely steep and it was on a scree slope. This is a trek term to indicate a trail covered with small loose gravel stones which have been pried out of their mud because of rain, wind, and vegetation. This is extremely dangerous because even with the best hiking shoes, it is very easy to lose your foothold and get tossed into the valley below. • The next 6 kms going up to Jabarkhet was narrow, slushy and steep and maintaining grip on the decaying leaves exhausted us. • Add to this incessant rain throughout the hike, making the slopes even more slippery. • The decaying vegetation bred millions of leeches. Every step we took was an open invitation to them to invade our bodies and suck our blood. • Because of the leeches, we could not stop anywhere on the trail even to catch our breaths! So much so, we wore ourselves out and took longer to complete the trek. • And then, because we took longer, we were seriously worried about how we were going to complete the trek as it became nightfall!
So what were our lessons from this trek? And how can we migrate them to the corporate world?
1. Understand implication: We all knew we were trekking during monsoons. We even went prepared for the rains by carrying raincoats. What none of us factored and no one flagged was, that, during monsoons, firstly, we should also expect leeches, and secondly that this region is known as ‘leech country’! We learned of both in hindsight after we were covered with over a hundred leeches and were a bloody mess! Had we known this, we would have carried suitable gear to protect our limbs from becoming leech-fodder! Corporate leaders are smart enough to read the portent signs but it is not enough unless they deduce the significance of all the implications of these signs, especially looking for all things that could derail the organisation! 2. Ask, ask, ask: We should have asked for facts about what made this trail treacherous before we started the trek. If we had known all the challenges that we were likely to face beforehand, we would have been physically, gear-wise and emotionally better prepared. Corporate leaders are excellent in planning for googlies based on available information from experts. It all happens at a 30,000 ft worldview. Minute details at the ground level are neither given nor asked for! It therefore turns expensive for the organisation when decisions are based on such worldviews. Use the famed Socratean method to prepare yourself! 3. Pray the guy is carrying salt: What saved the day for us, notwithstanding the murderous trail, rain, and leeches was that our guide Manish, carried in his backpack, both salt and Dettol. The salt was necessary to remove the leeches embedded in your skin. Dettol was needed to douse the leeches after removing to kill them. For Manish, his SoPs were clear. Trek in monsoon means leech, leech means salt and Dettol in backpack! Your guys on the street, like Manish, should be process oriented. Corporate leaders should focus on not only hiring smart feet-on-street but on making them internalise that not only following SoPs is their only ticket to success, but breaching them is not an option at all! Most teams on the ground have such low self-esteem that they don’t consider their jobs significant enough to make or break an organisation. They need to be shown how invaluable they are. 4. Don’t let your past bias you: Most of us on the trek were South Indians and where we come from; the leeches are huge and look like overgrown caterpillars.The leeches here looked like earthworms. So till they had gotten into our blood stream none of us realised that we were covered with leeches! The biggest challenge of a corporate leader is to overcome both personal and professional bias and make a decision about people and situations objectively. The ability to shed bias of all kinds is what makes the difference between a good leader and bad. I started trekking in the December of my life. I feel bad at times that I missed out on these phenomenal lessons during my corporate career challenge of a corporate leader is to overcome both personal and professional bias and make a decision about people and situations objectively
The writer explains various problems faced by senior citizens in the country and the importance of financial planning before one’s retirement
The beauty of life is that every person’s life is the same from a broader perspective – infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Even though it all looks the same for all but as you narrow down the perception, every life is different to its core. The elderly population in India is one of the fastest-growing in the world. At present, India is a country with the second-largest global population of ageing citizens. Living longer means having a longer retirement period. The elderly also face a lot of financial discomfort during their retirement, as their retirement fund cannot cope up with inflation.
So what are the problems faced by these people? 1. Lack of Income
When you have money coming from a job or business, you have a sense of security. The survey found that the financial impact on the elderly were mainly due to loss of family income, loss of business / professional income, heavy medical expenses and inflation. Senior citizens who had rentals coming in were also in a bad state as taking care of the property and remembering every single aspect which need to be taken care of became difficult with old age.
2. Asset Rich, Cash Poor
Senior citizens have created a lot of fixed assets over a period of time. Real estate was a very popular form of investment back then but then what do they do with it now? Most of the time, the elderly population don’t have enough liquid cash and won’t even be ready to sell off these properties due to the emotional attachment that they have with it. Old age is supposed to be stress free and living out all life’s earnings while not preserving them until death. Of course, a part of it can be passed on to the next generation but how would all of that be possible without an effective financial plan?
3. Variable Income
In a country like India only a few people have planned for retirement from the start and have a perfect balance between fixed assets and income generating assets. This gives them the freedom to live a decent life but these income generating assets give variable income. This income is not guaranteed nor has a consistency of being the same amount every month. During covid, a lot of people The elderly population in India is one of the fastestgrowing in the world. At present, India is a country with the second-largest global population of ageing citizens. Living longer means having a longer retirement period. The elderly also face a lot of financial discomfort during their retirement, as their retirement fund cannot cope up with inflation
suffered because of this as they didn’t get their rent, and received lesser dividends because the equity market crashed. So when you have a definite goal you should also have a definite source of income. Make sure your investments are in a place where you have safety and growth at the same time.
4. Rising Healthcare Costs
The rising costs of medical insurance and medical care can easily affect a senior’s finances. With lack of medical insurance or expensive premiums for senior citizens, health care costs have gotten expensive in the country. Unlike other countries, India doesn’t provide free healthcare due to its massive population but an effective and early financial planning can help to cut down these future risks with right methods and strategies.
5. Lack of Companionship
Most senior citizens who probably live alone suffer due to lack of companionship. Older adults may find themselves at a loss when a life partner passes away, particularly if the spouse was responsible for handling all of the household’s financial matters, hence these people should always have a financial advisor. Also, developing a strong bond with older parents and involving them in your life could be quite beneficial for all.
6. Increase in daily living expenses
Statistics indicate that up to 91 percent of older adults don’t have a pension or savings to use as resources. Most of them rely on their children to take care of them in their old age without considering that their children may not be in the best financial position or have other responsibilities that need immediate attention. Some seniors have never given retirement planning much thought, while others may have made poor investment choices that didn’t yield as expected. With current inflation rate, the daily expense for any individual has shot up.
7. Increasing Scams
Many older adults are a target for these scams are they believe a lot in people and aren’t aware much of technology and how it could be used to steal from them. To reduce these risks it is always better to have a financial advisor handy incase of any suspicious activity and safeguard them and their finances.
Retirement is supposed to be a period of joy and relaxation for senior citizens or even for those who opt for early retirement, but financial challenges are spoiling that dream for many. Based on a study, more than a third of the working population haven’t yet started saving for retirement, the concept of YOLO (you live only once) has severely impacted today’s generation. The ones above 50s have invested heavily in fixed assets which is giving them a cash crunch in many ways.
Get the right advice and find better investment options which will give liquidity options and safeguard your future. Saving for retirement at an early age has a lot of benefits especially in a country like India. You can take a loan for any financial goal in your life but not for retirement, take financially smart decisions today.
It is never too late to start planning, even if you are already a senior citizen, get in touch a trustworthy consultant who will help you to plan your finances in the right manner
CSR: The perfect game-changer for New Education Policy 2020
The author explains the New Education Policy and how CSR support can make a difference to the education sector
The Indian education sector is an extremely large and complex system. It is the second largest education system in the world with 15 lakh schools, 89 lakh teachers and almost 25 crore students; AISHE reports 3.74 crore students in higher education, 1000 universities, 39931 colleges, and 10,000 stand-alone institutes.
The government has made commendable efforts to promote quality education for all over the last decade. For example, to focus on quality education, the 2010 rules for the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 were amended in 2017 to mention class-wise, subject-wise learning outcomes.
These central rules serve as a guideline and template for states and union territories to pass their own rules to implement the RTE Act. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act was also passed in January 2019. The Amendment empowers appropriate governments to make decisions on whether to hold back children in class 5 and class 8.
The central government has launched an integrated scheme for school education called Samagra Shiksha, w.e.f. 2018-19 which consolidated three previous centrally sponsored schemes for school education.
A special mention must go to the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). It contains a host of measures that many have been long called for and represents a paradigm shift in the sector will come into force with effect from the current academic year.
The central government has spelled out its priority by renaming MHRD as MoE (Ministry of Education) and by hosting a 10 day conclave ‘Shiksha Parva’ which was attended by the Prime Minister – the intention was loud and bold.
However, for the NEP 2020 to take its roots, grow, and develop; we need to also understand the challenges in its transition from paper to practice.
Challenges
The key challenge that India and Goa is facing is that we have a huge pool of young population that will need jobs and a good education system will be a critical component of providing them with one. It is hard to describe how difficult it will be to make this a reality factoring that the education system in each state is influenced by a multitude of factors and stakeholders, and each state is different. Within each state we have diverse pedagogy and resource bench strength required for NEP transition. Education is also a concurrent subject.
On another level, the education system needs to respond to changing requirements and circumstances in society. The most obvious one is covid-19, which required a drastic pivot to relatively unfamiliar technologies. We may need to brace ourselves for such disruptors either natural or manmade.
During the pandemic, the worst affected were students of Std X- XII, these years being the crossroads in career exploration and a launch pad into the real world where they were deprived of learning opportunities. The other end of the spectrum were the Nursery/KG tiny tots, a stage where cognitive, emotive foundation takes place in a social setting but they had to confine to their homes and had no option but to experience premature exposure to the virtual world with an unreliable network bandwidth.
Then there is the question of updating curriculums to provide skills that students will need in the 21st century. These include critical thinking and information processing skills as well as broader life skills like stress management and professional etiquette.
Reforming the education sector is always going to require a collective effort from all stakeholders. As such, initiatives that strengthen these stakeholders will make the entire system more resilient and more adaptable to new policies. Initiatives will be needed to build the capacity of these critical stakeholders from across the state and provide them with a platform for collaboration and innovation. The best way to achieve this transition is by providing critical knowledge and guidance support to key stakeholders; and the will to create ‘education leaders.’
The NEP is a good step in taking Indian education in this direction. However, the full benefits of the NEP will require all stakeholders, including governments, schools, education leaders, and parents/ children to work together.
NEP is a visionary transformation which will need a clear customised strategy, strategy managers, execution blue print, execution experts from diverse fields. This all will need sustainable funding and professional expertise of green field project management. Industries by default mode follow principles of change management either because of intrinsic or extrinsic drive or pressures. They also need to carry out purposeful programs to park their CSR funds. This makes them obvious partners for NEP, as the biggest beneficiary in the long run will be industries.
In my experience and study, creating a public-private partnership (PPP) model at every taluka in Goa through CSR support will be the real game changer. This will supplement the government, education department by facilitating local solutions, accountability, and ownership and manage transition effectively and efficiently.
Here are three critical inputs to create PPPs at the taluka level.
1) Building the capacities at Taluka level
Education leaders need leadership development and collaboration
Why Foetal Heart Monitoring is Crucial during the Labour Process
The writer explains the workings of the foetal heart monitoring device and its advantages
In the field of obstetrics and gynaecology there are quite a few new inventions that have made the whole pregnancy and birthing process much safer than it used to be. One such device is the foetal heart monitoring device.
Foetal Heart Rate Monitor or foetal Doppler machine ultrasound monitor is used to hear an embryo’s heartbeat during pregnancy and that of a foetus during labour. The procedure of foetal heart rate monitoring allows your doctor to gauge how fast or slow your baby’s heart is beating. If you are expecting a child, your doctor will want to check to make sure your baby is healthy and developing normally. Checking the rate and rhythm of your baby’s heartbeat is one of the ways to do this.
The vitals of a woman can be easily monitored during labour, but what about the baby? How do we know whether it is all safe and sound? The foetal monitor comes to aid during active labour.
The average fetal heart rate is between 110 and 160 beats per minute. It can vary by 5 to 25 beats per minute. The fetal heart rate may change as your baby responds to conditions in your uterus. An abnormal fetal heart rate may mean that your baby is not getting enough oxygen or that there are other problems.
The doctor is able to make an emergency decision and perform an emergency c-section if they get to know that the baby’s heartbeat is dropping or increasing. In medicine we term this as ‘foetal distress’.
The traditional foetal monitor device that is commonly used by most hospitals uses Ultrasound Doppler technology that is used to hear an embryo’s heartbeat. This device does not allow the mother to be mobile as there are wires attached to the mother which makes it cumbersome to move anywhere. She would need help from the nurses or her partner every time she wanted to visit the washroom or move about.
The newer version of the foetal heart monitor is cordless and comes in a stickon format where it can be attached to the mother with a disposable patch. This device can be easily attached and leaves no room for error. We routinely use this device at our hospital because it allows the women in labour to be more at ease while I can Foetal Heart Rate Monitor or foetal Doppler machine ultrasound monitor is used to hear an embryo’s heartbeat during pregnancy and that of a foetus during labour. The procedure of foetal heart rate monitoring allows your doctor to gauge how fast or slow your baby’s heart is beating. If you are expecting a child, your doctor will want to check to make sure your baby is healthy and developing normally
monitor the readings on an app which allows for quick decision making. It allows women in labour to have a little walk, visit the washroom, interact with family and even shoot a pregnancy reel to post on Instagram without lugging a heavy device and a set of wires with them.
Fetal heart rate monitoring is especially helpful in the case of high-risk pregnancies. A pregnancy can be high risk if the woman has diabetes or high blood pressure or if your baby is not developing or growing as it should. In such cases the use of this device can be a life-saver.
Every doctor wishes to offer their patients the absolute best birthing experience and that is only possible when a mother is allowed to be comfortable and enjoy her birthing experience
The writer is an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Gracias Maternity Hospital Margao. Email: emanuelgraciasmd@gmail.com
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opportunities with speed, scale, and sustainability. Co-creation and collaboration through professional learning communities should be done at every Taluka. A hub and spoke arrangement will disperse it to every educational unit in that Taluka.
2) Integrated Digital Process Orchestration and Cloud schools at each Taluka
We need to offer systemic responses, updates, and integration processes disseminated through multiple media like TV, radio and learning apps which integrates every educational unit in the Taluka and at next level integrates all 12 Talukas. So that while we operate at every Taluka level collectively the state moves to the next level. Goa is also home to retired professionals/ bureaucrats who have both knowledge and wisdom.
If they are roped in for their 2nd innings, providing them with purpose and pride will accelerate the transition process for NEP. These schools need teachers for their cognitive and emotive growth and development.
The way forward
Dr K Kasturirangan, Chairman of the committee that drafted the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, said “The vision of India’s new education system is to ensure that it touches each and every citizen’s life and creates a just and equitable society”.
However, most of our educational institutions are underfunded, heavily bureaucratic and lack capacity for innovation and scale up. They need to be revamped, rejuvenated, and recalibrated.
The solution is obvious! Investing in teachers and channelising efforts towards building their capacity and capabilities, providing them the required infrastructure and resources is the need of the hour; so that each teacher emerges as a transformation coach.
Goa is a small but progressive state; and has created its mark worldwide. Also, NEP sits very well with the Goan ethos. All it needs a well-crafted execution program, implementation strategies, and partners, backed by required financial outlays which are perfect investment for CSR.
No policy is self-propelling, however great the intent. Reforming the education sector should be our top-most priority and it will require a collective effort. What better opportunity than this for CSR
The Bull delivers a Massive Uppercut, The dazed Bear Staggers and Glares!
The Markets bounce hard from its major support zone, examines the writer
Picking up from where it left off, Nifty 50 made its bottom on the third expiry day of June on the 16th, the following day it maintained the same range and the next week onwards, that is on Monday of 20th July embarked on a new rally which it has been continuing till the third weekend closing of July, on the 22nd where the market closed at 16719.
Through the second last week of June and the expiry week, the strong pullback retested the level of 17800 which was the previous support level and now resistance. The June series expired on the 30th of June which saw a huge intraday move of 170 points, where the sellers were in control for a while but soon the buyers became active towards the day end, and gave a close in a positive, just short of the 15800 mark.
The July series started with a bang with a 260 points intraday opportunities for both the buyers and the sellers. The following week, that is 4th onwards saw a breakout with momentum over the 15800 mark, as Nifty started moving towards its next minor resistance at 16200 having crossed over its 20 MA and 20 EMA on the 6th of July and has been trading over it since.
A minor reversal was seen after hitting the 16200 zone, for a week but a reversal was made too after touching the 15800 belt again. From there the markets have been seeing a rally which has again put it at another crucial resistance range of the 16800 zone. This level becomes crucial because this is the level from which the markets fell during which it made its bottom 15183. Currently positioned at 16719, over 1534 points above its 52-week low hit last month. Sectoral view: The current rally has breathed fresh life in all the sectors and most stocks, both largecaps and midcaps across various sectors have taken a bounce from their supports. But with Nifty 50 standing at a precarious position right now, new positions are best avoided until the levels are lower from this point, near an older support level or after a strong breakout with momentum from the current position. Let us do a quick review of the various sectors and the shares within them. Auto: Continuing its pullback from the 21st of June, Nifty Auto has taken a straight rally of over 1900 points in the last month, during which it broke its previous high of 12100 as it currently rests at 12600. The coming expiry week will be crucial for the Auto sector as it will determine whether it's time to hold on to the stocks or book profits and wait for safer levels. In this space, Tata Motors has just reached a major resistance at 460 and has seen a selling move as it touched its 200 MA. Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motor, Hero Corp, too have come near its resistances with some selling pressure now visible. However, TVS Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are flying in the open blue sky, having crossed over their previous peak. New positions in this sector must be purchased very cautiously with strict stop losses and small targets for swing traders. For investors, new potions must be taken only when the index gives a breakout or a breakdown from this point. IT: The most ruthlessly bashed sector of them all on the decline had participated in the rally too in, where from its bottom, the Nifty IT index went up by 2130 points, that is 8.1% from its 52 week low of 26600. The rally has still not pushed the index enough to break its resistance at 28500. The Index is still above the 20 EMA and 20 MA, and it remains to be seen if the expiry week propels it over the range or not. The risk-reward ratio in most of the prominent stocks in this sector is conducive for long positions as of now for both investors and swing traders. The opportunities to buy can be explored in stocks like Mindtree, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Mphasis, Persistant, LTI, Tata Elexi, which have all moved from their support zones, the buying if at all done, must only be made so with a strict stop-loss on the support zones. Realty: Nifty Realty Index has seen a ride along with the Nifty 50 since 17th June and has seen a 20% rise from its bottom at its 52-week low, upto the 22nd of July. The index currently has touched its 200 DEMA level and nears its 200 MA. in the event of a crossover, the realty sector stands to break its previous high.
In this space, DLF, Sobha and Prestige have reached a congestion zone and new positions can be explored only in the event of a correction or a breakout over its immediate resistance, while Brigade, Godrej Properties and GMR Infra can be explored for long positions as they provide a good risk reward ratio at current levels, the positions; however, if bought, it must only be done so with a strict stop-loss on its support zone. FMCG: This is another sector that has seen a massive surge with Nifty 50 since 20th June. pushed on by ITC. The sector has broken its range of 7% held since April and gave a massive breakout above its 200 MA on the 1st of July. this index has given a strong bounce from its previous support of 36213 and now breached its previous high.
In this sector, Hindustan Uniliver, Britannia, Tata Consumer and Dabur have taken a bounce from their respective supports, and breached their 200 MA marks with strong momentum and have now entered their congestion zones while Emami approaches the 200 DEMA and ITC leads the pack having reached its pre-covid levels and breathing its psychological level of 300.
New positions are not recommended in this sector as the risk-reward ratio is highly unfavourable. The possibility of long positions can only be explored after clearing of congestion zones of the stocks or at a correction. Sugar: The ever volatile sugar stocks did not participate much in the rally this month overall, but some stocks have seen a strong buying taking place. Continued On Page 92
Atul Pai Kane shares his entrepreneurial journey with GIM students GMA facilitates the industrialist for an inspirational talk aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs
L to R: Rusai Fernandes, Rohan Bhandare, Harshvardhan Bhatkuly, Sanchita Banerjee, Atul Pai Kane, Amin Ladak, Venkatesh Naga and Pradeep Salgaonkar Goa Management Association (GMA) and Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Sanquelim recently organised a talk by Atul Pai Kane, Chairman and Managing Director, Power Engineering (India) Pvt Ltd, Goa.
The talk was held at the Multiple Purpose House, Goa Institute of Management, for young students admitted for a MBA Course. Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director, Goa Institute of Management and Amin Ladak, Chairman, GMA, came up with this idea of inspirational talk to young management students.
Pai Kane shared with the student participants his real life experience, how as a child he accompanied his father in his business affairs, which helped him learn various business related lessons at a very young age. Pai Kane who has recently graduated from Harvard Business School also shared his experience of going back to school. The industrialist shared his insights on returning to academics after having run a three-decade course as a hands-on entrepreneur. Atul Pai Kane has a Diploma in Structural Engineering and has now completed an Owner/ President Management Program from Harvard Business School. Pai Kane founded Power Engineering India Pvt Ltd in 1989, currently owns and runs the Pai Kane Group having interests in engineering and contract manufacturing with five plants in India and one in the United Kingdom. The Pai Kane Group is engaged in manufacturing capital goods in the power and infrastructure sector. Atul Pai Kane’s responsibility include formulation of strategy and goal setting. He has been awarded ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2005 by Goa Management Association; and ‘Businessman of the Year’ Award in 2019; while the Group was awarded ‘Industry of the Year’ in 2012 at the Business Goa Awards. Pai Kane’s talk was followed by a question and answer session, which was attended by 450 students.
Sanchita Banerjee Rodrigues, member of GMA Executive Committee introduced Pai Kane; Prof Venkatesh Naga, Dean (Academics) GIM, moderated the session; and CA Rohan Bhandare, Executive Committee Member, GMA, proposed the vote of thanks.
Dr. Prita D Mallya, member of the Executive Committee of GMA and Principal, VVM’s Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics and Prof Venkatesh Naga, GIM had initiated this interactive session with Pai Kane
Atul Pai Kane
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As of 22 July, Dhampur Sugar and Mawana Sugar have not moved much from their support levels, while from its recent bottom, stocks like Dalmia Sugar have surged by 27.64%, Dwarkesh Sugar by 32.5%, Balrampur Chini by 12% and EID Perry by 25.8% are continuing their rally.
New positions in this sector must be taken cautiously and if they are in holding, a trailing stop-loss must be followed.
Banks: The rally of Nifty was led ahead by Bank Nifty and since June 20 the index has seen a 15% surge during which it broke above its 200 DEMA and 200 MA and is currently trading above it.
One can expect Nifty and Bank Nifty to move in tandem, through Bank Nifty shows more volatility.
Like the bottom of Nifty was at 15183, Bank Nifty turned from the level of 32400. From this sector, both the private and public sector banks have seen a surge, while some are in good positions, others have hit their resistances and are seeing profit bookings. Among the stocks in this sector, the HDFC twins look to be in very good positions as they have both touched their 200 DEMA and are moving towards 200 MA. Axis Bank and Canara Bank too breached their 200 MA and have seen profit booking, Kotak bank is witnessing profit booking after touching its 200 MA, while ICICI Bank and SBI Bank are trading far above their 200 MA and are continuing their trend. Federal Bank has seen a massive rally and is now seeing a consolidation above its previous resistance. RBL Bank and IDFC First Bank did not participate much in the rally but have still given minor moves.
Ending note: Last month, the Markets were oversold, the stocks were on their strong support zones, and the rally was a good time to make and book profits as well as exit trapped shares at minimum or no losses. But now those dips have been bought and the Markets have attained a height. Any buying from these levels involves comparatively higher risk as the markets are poised on a resistance level. And most of the losses in the markets happen because of buying the resistances and selling the supports. So in this situation, one needs to be careful with their risk management strategies.
The resistance once breached and sustained becomes the new support and similarly, support once breached and sustained becomes the new resistance. So to take any kind of positions, whether short or long, some patience is necessary to at least make sure whether the current level is a support or a resistance which can only be known in the case of a Breakout or a Break-Down. Moreover, in any situation whatsoever must any trades or positions taken especially when the markets give a movement, be taken without a calculated stop-loss
FORTUNE MIRAMAR Shravan Stories The holy month of Shravan brings a number of dietary restrictions, but Fortune Miramar has found a way to celebrate this period
Goan Thali
By SYBIL RODRIGUES
Shravan, the fifth month of the Hindu calendar, has a special religious and cultural significance among the Hindu community in Goa. Being the first month of the Chaturmas season it calls for fasting and the observation of additional vows. In Goa, there are several rituals and traditions followed during this period that culminates with chavath festivities.
During the period of Shravan, which is considered the most auspicious by the Hindu community in Goa and the Konkan region, Hindus go on a vegetarian diet and engross themselves in religious and spiritual affairs. During Shravan, the Hindu community celebrates festivals like Nagpanchami, Gokulashtami, Narali Poornima, and Raksha Bandhan. Besides, each day of the week, with the exception of Wednesdays, is dedicated to deities. Most temples and shrines around the state, organise various fairs, bhajans and kirtans that attract a large number of followers.
While Mondays in Shravan are marked with a complete fast for some, sticking only to certain foods, a sort of ‘partial fast’ is observed on other days of Shravan. During this time, non-vegetarians abstain from fish and meat, while vegetarians avoid consuming onion and garlic.
Religious significance aside, Shravan is a rather testing time for foodies and businesses related to food. Restaurants are believed to typically face a downturn in business during this time, but now that picture seems to be changing, thanks to the emergence of ‘Shravan Thali.’ A number of restaurants around Goa offer a special Shravan thali during the holy month, enabling customers to have ‘the best of both worlds’ by providing an opportunity to enjoy delicious restaurant style dishes while also maintaining religious observance.
Fortune Miramar Goa, a contemporary hotel for the modern day traveller, features 45 beautifully-furnished rooms, a selection of dining outlets and banquet facilities for up to 150 guests. The dining options at Fortune Miramar include: Orchid – the 24-hour multi-cuisine restaurant, Neptune – Bar & Lounge, and Fortune Deli – a contemporary bakery outlet. The hotel is at an advantageous location, being not too far from the airport, local shopping district, casinos, beaches, and other areas of interest
Indulge in the ultimate Shravan experience this festive season at Fortune Miramar. Shravan Delights feature a culinary journey across India with a unique thali each day. Each thali comprises of traditional dishes from a select region. Delight your taste buds with thalis hand crafted to perfection, 29th July onwards at their acclaimed restaurant, Orchid.
However, even as restaurants are doing good business, many Goan people who are non-vegetarians are now finding ways to make food spicy and tasty without the usual flavours of fish and meat. Thus, the adage ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ seems to ring true during the month of Shravan, as businesses and homemakers faced with dietary restrictions continue to innovate and develop new ways of making food spicy and tasty
Malabari Thali
Maharashtrian Thali
